


Someone Who Loves Him

by Karasu888



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pining, Rating Will Definitely Change in Next Update, Tags May Change, Thanatos is a BIG tsundere
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:47:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27495214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karasu888/pseuds/Karasu888
Summary: Thanatos lowered himself to the gaudy rug Zagreus decorated the West Hall with just to tap his bare toes in an impatient beat. He shifted his scythe to his left hand, usually used to its heavy burden, but somehow the waiting added to its heft. Tearing his eyes from the bloody river, he glanced over his shoulder again. Where was he?
Relationships: Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 105





	Someone Who Loves Him

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starrynoctsky (lightinthehall)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightinthehall/gifts).



> This little fic came about after talking about Persephone's rejection of Zagreus and how Thanatos would react with my friend Sous. I'm planning for a much spicier part two once I progress their relationship further in the Hades game 👀 (just need him to show up more!)
> 
> I'm currently neck deep in draft 2 of my original mlm fantasy novel, and this was a nice little breather from that (as the game has been!).

Thanatos lowered himself to the gaudy rug Zagreus decorated the West Hall with just to tap his bare toes in an impatient beat. He shifted his scythe to his left hand, usually used to its heavy burden, but somehow the waiting added to its heft. Tearing his eyes from the bloody river, he glanced over his shoulder again. Where was he?

Achilles met his gaze, eyebrow raised in question, and Thanatos quickly turned back around, fighting the flush to his cheeks. Why did he continue to wait for that foolish man? He’d last seen Zagreus in Elysium, wearing the pierced butterfly gift brazenly pinned to the red fabric on his chest. His usually slow, steady heartbeat sped up again at the memory.

Thanatos blamed the sight for costing him the competition with Zagreus. That man flew through the shades like a beautiful, deadly tempest of blood and flames, slaying three to one the number Thanatos reaped. And then Zagreus had the audacity to gift him another bottle of nectar with the biggest grin on his face. Him. And he accepted it again, of course. The Death Incarnate sipping on a liquor commonly reserved only for the mightiest of gods.

He supposed he was owed something for the headache Zagreus had caused with his frequent escape attempts. Hades was in a fouler mood than usual and the whispers of his repeated defeats at the hands of his son floated from one shade to the next. Yet Zagreus seemed happier than ever. More determined than ever after finding his mother in the mortal realm. Thanatos could bear Hades’ temper if it meant Zagreus continued to smile.

Zagreus. The man, the god, that was the root of all his problems, including Thanatos’ erratic heartbeat. Where was he? He should’ve cleared Elysium, plowed through the Temple of Styx, defeated Hades, and reached the mortal realm by now. He never remained there long before the river Styx rose to reclaim him, but if he’d returned, he would’ve surely paid Thanatos a visit. Right? Maybe he’d said something uncouth in their last meeting. Maybe Zagreus had been disappointed in his performance with the shades. But he hadn’t heard Zagreus visit Achilles either, and Achilles was his favorite person down here.

Thanatos glanced over his shoulder again, searching. Nothing. No sign of Zagreus. No sound of his flaming feet sizzling on the stone or the impractical rugs. Surely he realized how many burned footprints now decorated their surfaces, especially near the statues he liked to nudge.

Achilles cleared his throat, drawing Thanatos’ attention away from the decorations. “If you’re looking for Zagreus, he went straight to his room.”

“What?” Thanatos frowned.

“I agree. It’s odd for him. Perhaps you should check on him to ensure he’s okay.”

Thanatos scoffed, irritation and doubt welling up within him. “And why would I do that?” If Zagreus couldn’t be troubled to visit him, then why should he go out of his way to see Zagreus?

Achilles' eyes roamed the area around them for any wandering shades before he whispered, “He didn’t look well.”

Heart leaping into his throat, Thanatos disappeared in a plume of sickly green. What if’s ran through Thanatos’ mind in the second it took him to teleport to Zagreus’ room. What if the frequent trips to the surface were too taxing on Zagreus? What if Hades hurt him permanently? He knew he should’ve followed Zagreus to escort his body to the River Styx each time he collapsed. Only then could he be sure Zagreus was okay.

The bell tolled as he popped into existence in Zagreus’ room, announcing his arrival.

Zagreus groaned from atop his bed without even glancing in Thanatos’ direction, arm thrown over his face. “Go away, Than.”

And Thanatos almost did. What was he doing here anyway? Zagreus seemed healthy enough, even if he was lying in the bed he never touched. Probably for the best since his feet were scorching through the comforter. A quick cursory glance, and Thanatos confirmed Zagreus had all limbs and wasn’t bleeding. 

Thanatos huffed, ready to leave, until he saw the tears wetting Zagreus’ face. The ones he tried so hard to hide.

The room darkened, the candles guttering. “Who hurt you?” he said, voice dangerously low.

“She...she said…” Zagreus lost his voice to another wave of tears, and he rolled over onto his side, back to Thanatos. “Just go,” he pleaded between sobs.

There was only one woman that could break Zagreus down so completely. And Thanatos was going to pay her a visit.

* * *

Thanatos raised an arm against the bright sunlight, shielding his gaze as he searched for her.

Persephone looked up from her garden as the bell tolled, announcing Thanatos’ arrival, eyes widening when they landed on his scythe and then his thunderous expression. She slowly stood, dusting her hands on her dress. “To what do I owe the honor of Death’s presence?”

“You broke him. Tell me what you said to him!” Thanatos shifted his scythe to the front, the threat clear. Even if he couldn’t kill her, he would make her pay.

“Zagreus has mentioned you, you know,” Persephone said with a small smile.

Thanatos dropped a few inches in the air, surprised. He couldn’t help but say, “He has?”

Persephone nodded, smile growing. A smile that looked so much like her son’s, it filled Thanatos with a desperate longing to see Zagreus again. “Our time together was brief, but he always took precious seconds to talk about you. This last visit,” she paused, her smile faltering before she continued, “he showed me the butterfly you gave him.”

Thanatos’ treacherous heart pounded in his chest, trying to distract him like Persephone was doing. “What did you say to him!” he demanded, a wave of power rippling outward. It dimmed the sun overhead and wilted the plants around them.

Persephone’s dress swirled around her, but she didn't flinch. “I’m so happy to see he has someone like you, Thanatos, especially since I can no longer see him.” She smiled again, but it was sad, weak. Tears filled her eyes.

Her clear pain drained the anger from Thanatos. He dropped to the ground, feet sinking into the loamy soil. “What do you mean,  _ someone like me _ ?” 

“Someone who loves him.”

_ No _ . How had she unearthed his secret so easily? Thanatos stumbled a step backward, as if a blade had been plunged into his heart, panic seizing his throat. No one was supposed to know his true feelings for Zagreus. He didn’t even care to acknowledge them most days.

“It’s very sweet. And it seems like he also--”

Thanatos disappeared, teleporting to the safe, fiery realm of Asphodel. Even if Zagreus had somehow managed to pull himself from bed and start another run to the surface knowing his mother didn’t want to see him, it would be a while before he made it here. Thanatos needed time to recover, time to restore his stony facade. Time to build the crumbling structure up brick by brick before seeing Zagreus again. 

Hopefully, Thanatos managed to restore the wall that housed his feelings before the desire to see Zagreus won out. He was inexplicably drawn to that sarcastic, self-deprecating, good-humored man, as death was always drawn to life, and Zagreus could never know.

* * *

Thanatos only lingered in Asphodel for a small sliver of time, before the need to check on Zagreus pulled him back to the god’s bedroom. He popped in at the tail end of the bell toll, standing a few feet from the bed and Zagreus still curled up on its surface.

“Zag,” Thanatos said, drifting closer to the end of the charred bedspread. Close enough to see Zagreus’ shoulder tremble with a restrained whimper. Thanatos suppressed the urge to gather Zagreus into his arms and comfort him. He was Death Incarnate, and Death did not  _ comfort _ .

But Zagreus’ soft sobs soon drew Thanatos closer, and he settled onto the edge of Zagreus’ bed. He turned, reaching out, hesitating, hand hovering over Zagreus, before lowering to Zagreus’ calf. Thanatos wasn’t sure the purpose of his touch, only that he needed Zagreus to feel how close he was. Or maybe he was the one who needed to feel close to Zagreus. “You have to go see her again.”

Zagreus’ skin warmed Thanatos’ cool palm through his thin leggings as Thanatos waited for an answer. When one didn’t come, Thanatos said, “Zagreus,” voice darkening with annoyance.

“But she doesn’t want to see me again!” Zagreus protested, voice muffled by the pillow he’d buried his face in.

“You’re going to let one small headstone knock you flat on your face?”

Zagreus sat up to confront Thanatos, face a mess of tears and snot. “What don’t you understand, Than? She doesn’t want to see me again!”

Thanatos’ hand slipped back to the bed, resting between them.

The tears and snot worried Thanatos more than Zagreus drenched in blood. Zagreus always came back when mortally wounded, but could Zagreus recover from such a deep emotional wound? He had to. Even if it meant Zagreus would leave the Underworld forever. Even if it meant he’d see less and less of Zagreus. All he wanted was for Zagreus to smile again. He  _ needed _ it. 

Thanatos’ fingers dug into the blanket as he leaned forward. “I have never seen you with such determination in all of our lives, and you’re just going to give up because she turned you away once? I thought you were stronger than this, Zag.” Thanatos watched as each verbal blow made Zagreus visibly flinch and kept going. “You’ve worked so hard for a relationship with your mother. Do not give up now.”

Zagreus stared at Thanatos for what felt like eternity, eyes still brimming and cheeks stained with drying tears. And then he smiled.

It was like the too-bright sun peeking through the clouds after a rainy day. That smile cut through Thanatos like his scythe through souls. If those souls felt even a modicum of what he felt in that moment, death must be an overwhelming sensation.

“You’re right,” Zagreus said.

Thanatos almost didn’t hear him, so mesmerized by that smile.

_ Someone who loves him. _

An overly warm hand closed over Thanatos’ cold one.

“What would I do without you, Than?”

_ Someone who loves him. _

Why did Zagreus’ room feel like the fire pits of Asphodel right now? Everything was too warm, too fuzzy. Thanatos claimed his hand back, clutching it close to his chest as if it’d been burned, and quickly stood. Without thinking, he blurted out the obvious, “You’d be wallowing in your sad feelings for the next century or so.”

Zagreus laughed, his smile shifting to his usual playful smirk.

_ Someone who loves him. _

Thanatos cheek’s pinkened.

“Than? Are you alright? You’re looking a bit flushed.” Climbing out of his bed, Zagreus stood before Thanatos, filling the space until he was all Thanatos could see.

_ Someone who loves him _ rang louder and clearer than any of the times before, begging Thanatos to give voice to his repressed feelings for Zagreus.

As he stared into Zagreus’ beautiful, mismatched eyes, Thanatos opened his mouth, fearing a confession was about to spill forth.

Instead, Thanatos croaked out, “Blood and darkness. Got to go. Don’t die, Zag.”  _ I love you _ wilted in the back of Thanatos’ throat right before he fled in a puff of green smoke.


End file.
